


Pathways

by babbitly



Category: Free!
Genre: FOR THE FUTURE, Fluff, M/M, free secret santa 2k14
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-27
Updated: 2014-12-27
Packaged: 2018-03-03 18:16:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2860409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babbitly/pseuds/babbitly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: For the Future.</p>
<p>"Of course he’d have a sakura filled pool, Haru thought as he flicked his eyes sideways to Rin who was next to Makoto, staring at him, his grin sliding across his face, his teeth sharp, his eyes bright, his excitement so blatantly obvious. He was glowing. He was beautiful.<br/>But so was the pool."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pathways

**Author's Note:**

> This work was for the free secret santa event. It was written for attack-on-my-fandoms, with the prompt for the future.

Of course he’d have a sakura filled pool, Haru thought as he flicked his eyes sideways to Rin who was next to Makoto, staring at him, his grin sliding across his face, his teeth sharp, his eyes bright, his excitement so blatantly obvious. He was glowing. He was beautiful.

But so was the pool.

So Haru ran. He couldn’t resist it anymore than someone could resist taking a breath. The water just called to him. He had to be in that water. And this was Rin’s dream, to swim in a pool of Sakura blossoms and here they were.

Doing just that.

But then again, Haru thought as he tumbled out of his school uniform and leapt into the water, Rin had always managed to make the impossible things possible. And Haru knew without any doubt in his mind that he’d continue to do it. And Haru would be there to watch.

The water was perfect, it was always perfect to Haru, it didn’t matter the temperature, and it greeted him as he submerged, wrapping around his body bolstering his energy somehow, not fighting him, not protesting his presence; calm.

And then he felt someone grab his foot underneath the water and pull him down, his eyes widening slightly before he felt the water cover his face and submerge him in silence.

He knew before he opened his eyes in the water, the slight sting of the chlorine painful but familiar, and saw that blur of red hair looming before him, who had done it.

He felt Rin’s fingers brush against his cheek, trailing across his lips. Haru grabbed his hand and kicked once to surface, unable to contain the small smile that pulled at his lips as Rin surfaced, hair slicked to his forehead, laughing.

Haru could listen to that laugh forever.

He could stay here forever in this pool.

With his friends.

With these stupid cherry blossoms.

With Rin.

He would always stay with Rin.

So he smiled as he tugged Rin’s hand along with him underwater, heading towards his teammates a few lap lanes over.

Rin squeezed his hand and swam next to him.

\--------

It was dark before Makoto and the others left to head back to Iwatobi, Haru having told them that he was staying with Rin tonight.

It was his last night in the dorms.

His last night at Samezuka.

His last night in Japan.

And of course, being the overly-sentimental person Rin was, he’d asked Haru to stay to keep him company one last night.

And of course Haru hadn’t hesitated in saying yes.

He was leaving tomorrow, anyway.

Haru closed his eyes as he lay floating in the pool that was still filled with all those Sakura blossoms, the best farewell they all could have asked for, and just listened to the silence. He didn’t want to think about Rin leaving, but he wasn’t going to have a choice because he was going to be facing it head on tomorrow at 4pm.

4pm.

Haru sighed, letting his arms drift up above his head, the petals grazing against his skin like fingers brushing down his arms, bringing chills to his skin, before bringing them back to his side and drifting off in another direction.

“Haru,” Rin’s voice called, muffled by the water around his ears, but clear enough to jerk Haru out of his thoughts

Haru righted himself in the pool and looked up to Rin who was standing on the side of the pool with a towel wrapped around his waist, his leg skins still on, visible below his towel line. He stared at Rin, confused. Why wasn’t he getting in? Why did he have his towel-

“C’mon, let’s go back to the room.” Rin said, twirling his goggles in his hand.

“No.” Haru said, feeling his stomach twist in disgust at the thought.

“Haru,” Rin whined, his face a mix of confusion and disbelief, “We’ve been in here all day, c’mon.”

Haru ignored him, and returned to floating on his back and kicked away from the side of the pool. He didn’t want to get out of the pool yet. He didn’t know when the next time he’d be in the same water as Rin was, he wasn’t leaving yet.

Not yet.

“Get in, Rin.” Haru said, making sure he was loud enough for Rin to know he wasn’t disputing this. Haru was being selfish tonight. He wouldn’t get to for some time.

He couldn’t hear Rin’s response if there was one, but he did hear a splash as Rin jumped back in the water.

And Haru knows nothing magical traversed through the liquid in the pool, nothing chemical changes in the water’s composition in that second, but it felt different when Rin was sharing it with him. This is where they belonged together.

He felt Rin swim up next to him, felt the ripples of the water from his movement before he felt Rin’s hands on his arm, and then his side, fingers ghost like and ticklish.

Rin trailed his fingers from Haru’s bicep down his forearm and then down to his hand, outlining every finger, before intertwining his own fingers within Haru’s. And then Rin’s whole side was lined up with Haru’s, he could feel Rin’s leg against his own, his shoulder bumping his own shoulder in the water.  And they floated.

They didn’t talk.

They didn’t adjust their path.

They just were.

One with the water.

Together.

Haru could hear his own breaths in his ears, and faintly Rin’s next to him. And that was all. It was all he wanted. Haru could have stayed here forever. But he also had a boyfriend who’s patience level rivaled that of a puppies.

“Haru, what are you thinking about?” He heard Rin say next to him. Haru flicked his eyes over to Rin’s face, met Rin’s glance.

“The water.”

He saw Rin shut his eyes and watched that sharp smile grew across his lips.

“And the future. And you. And how much I don’t want you to leave. And how this is going to be the last time we’re in the same water together for months. And how I love you.”

Haru shifted, let his feet sink to the bottom of the pool and stood, keeping his hand clasped with Rin’s as he looked over his floating form, let his eye rove down the firm planes of his chest that the water tried to swallow, inching up his skin and receding. Rin’s eyes snapped open and he stared at Haru, his eyes full of water that Haru was almost certain wasn’t from the pool.

Haru moved forward, placing his other hand on Rin’s abdomen, which was warm and familiar and perfect, and pressed his lips against Rin’s. The mixture of chlorine and his breath familiar and just a part of Rin he’d grown to love.

He kissed him slow, he didn’t want to rush anything tonight, and Rin’s mouth parted almost immediately, Haru’s name on his lips as he stood in the water before Haru, never breaking their kiss.

Haru pulled back from him, moving his hands to Rin’s waist below the water, and stared at him, his eyes flicking across all of his features taking him in. The sharp line of his nose, the hair that lay matted against his head, the tears that trailed down his cheeks as he blinked..

He settled on his eyes last.

Those dark red iris’ Haru’d dreamt about since he was young. Always bright and shining and looking forward towards the future.

“Haru, I don’t want to leave you behind,” Rin said, sniffing as he brought his hand up to Haru’s face, rubbing the pad of his thumb over his cheekbone.

“You’re not leaving me behind,” Haru said, pulling Rin closer, their bodies completely aligned, skin against skin, their breathing in sync, he pressed his lips against the skin of Rin’s cheek, kissing the tears he shed so frequently, “You’re taking a different road to the same place. This is just a fork.”

“Haru.” Rin said, his voice broken as he wrapped his arms around Haru’s back, pressing his face into Haru’s neck.

Haru closed his eyes, taking in the scent of Rin, so close to him he could almost feel his heartbeat against his own, mixed with the scent of the pool, and

“This is only a fork,” Haru said again into Rin’s hair as he rubbed his hand up his back. To be honest, he wasn’t really sure where all this was coming from, words had never been his strong point, but it’s what he felt. Felt deep in his being, that these words needed to be said here, tonight, before everything changed.  “When I think about the future, the only thing I want to see is you by my side, Rin.”


End file.
